The state of Kerala has reported one case of Nipah virus after a 23-year old man admitted to a private hospital in Kerala’s Ernakulam was diagnosed positive. The same virus killed 17 people last year. The National Institute of Virology, Pune that did the did the diagnosis revealed that that the man had been suffering from fever, which was followed by his Nipah virus diagnosis. Four more people, including two nurses, are also down with fever.
Over 80 people, among them 22 students, were put under surveillance on Monday. Kerala Health minister said there was no need to panic as all relevant measures were put into place. Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said he was in touch with the Kerala Health Minister. The medicine, sourced from Australia after the Nipah outbreak last year, is available only with the National Institute of Virology. The source of the latest Nipah virus outbreak is not known, said KK Shailaja. The last known outbreak in the subcontinent before Kerala last year was in 2004 in Bangladesh. The virus was first identified among pigs in Kampung Sungai Nipah in Malaysia in 1998.
She also said that the source of the virus is not known, though the government has ordered an inspection to detect the cause simultaneously it has also asked the people not to panic. The state government had put into place precautionary measures even before the virus was confirmed.
The medicine sourced from Australia after the Nipah virus outbreak last year only available with the National Institute of Virology. It was used as preventive medicine for people who were exposed to the Hendra virus in Australia which mainly infects large fruit bats (flying foxes) and can be passed on to the livestock and people.
Nipah virus is transmitted from animals to humans and then spreads through people to people contact. It is associated with fatal encephalitis and respiratory illness. In initial stages, it causes headache, muscle pain, dizziness and nausea. There is no known vaccine against the virus.
